AP Source: Big Ten talking to Maryland, Rutgers

/ AP

Maryland head coach Randy Edsall looks on as players transition between plays during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Florida State in College Park, Md., Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. Florida State won 41-14. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Maryland head coach Randy Edsall looks on as players transition between plays during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Florida State in College Park, Md., Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. Florida State won 41-14. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) (/ AP)

RALPH D. RUSSO, AP College Football Writer

Maryland and Rutgers are in discussions with the Big Ten to possibly join the conference in 2014, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke Saturday night on condition of anonymity because neither the conference nor the schools want to publicly discuss their plans.

ESPN.com first reported that the Big Ten was looking into expanding to 14 teams by adding Maryland and Rutgers.

The person says Maryland would have to be "the first domino to fall," but added that an agreement could be reached as soon as this week for both schools.

When the ACC added Notre Dame in September, its members also voted to raise the exit fee of the league to $50 million.

Rutgers is a member of the Big East, which is on target to become a 12-team football conference next season when Boise State and five others join. The Big East has been hammered in realignment over the past year with the losses of Syracuse, Pitt, West Virginia and Notre Dame.

In rebuilding the league into a coast-to-coast conference, the Big East also raised its exit fee to $10 million. The conference also has a 27-month notification period, but West Virginia, Pitt and Syracuse have all negotiated early exit deals.

If Maryland were to leave the ACC for the Big Ten, Connecticut of the Big East would seem to be the most logical replacement with the ACC having already built a northern base in the conference.

Adding Maryland and Rutgers would give the Big Ten schools in two more huge television markets - Washington D.C. and the New York/New Jersey area - while expanding the conference's footprint east and south.